Massive calories tracked by Fitbit Sense

[Louisemark]

Hi, recently changed watch from ionic, to the sense, but there appears to be a massive difference in my calories burned daily, in excess of 1000 calories differential. My daily work/exercise not changed, just seems very low, any ideas?  

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @Louisemark, welcome to the community forums! Thank you for the information! 

Make sure that the information you entered on your Fitbit account is updated (height, weight, sex, and age). Take into consideration that Fitbit devices combine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) the rate at which you burn calories at rest to maintain vital body functions (including breathing, blood circulation, and heartbeat) and your activity data to estimate your calories burned. So, it is very important to keep the information updated on the Fitbit account. 

On a side note, please note that your Heart Rate data is also included, especially to estimate calories burned during exercise and your Sense tracks active zone minutes instead of active minutes. Remember that this is based on heart-pumping activity throughout the day, therefore, it could have an impact. For more details, please check: What are Active Zone Minutes or active minutes on my Fitbit device?

Hope this helps. 

[SCon15]

I’m having a similar issue. I just got the sense and noticed the calorie burn in a workout was far less than I recorded on the Apple Watch for the exact same workout. Are you saying the sense only calculates calories from the Active Zone Minutes?

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @SCon15, welcome to the community forums! 

No, Fitbit estimates your Calories burned combining your BMR (height, weight, sex, and age), which is the information that you entered when you created your Fitbit account and your activity data, which includes your Heart Rate. 

Let's mention an example: Your heart rate indicates how much effort it takes for you to do a certain activity, and that effort determines the calories you burn. If a heart rate device indicates your calorie burn, it's more likely to be accurate than the average activity tracker because it's taken your specific heart rate in to account. 

For more information, I recommend visiting the following thread which includes more details about calories burned. 

Hope this helps!